Canadian institutional investors and asset managers are increasingly using exchange-traded funds for strategic allocations, as found by a recent study conducted by Greenwich Associates, a firm specialising in researching the financial industry.

Greenwich Associates found that participating institutions and asset managers in Canada now hold over 21% and 25% respectively of their total assets in ETFs.

The third annual study into Canadian ETF usage commissioned by asset manager BlackRock, discovered that participating institutions and asset managers hold over 21% and 25% respectively of total assets in ETFs. Additionally, over a third of those surveyed stated a desire to further increase their ETF holdings over the coming year.

Warren Collier, Managing Director, Head of iShares, BlackRock Canada, commented: “We’ve seen institutional acceptance of ETFs explode in recent years, but today the ‘how’ of ETF use has become just as important as the ‘how much”. As the survey shows, Canadian institutions are leading the world not only in how much they use ETFs, but also in the ways they are using them – from strategic allocations to achieving fixed income exposures and replacing derivatives. As more institutions realise the benefits of ETFs, we expect this trend to continue.”